HaMoked Report Perpetuates Lies Against Israel

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A tank takes part in an IDF drill. Photo: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.

New Israel Fund grantee HaMoked has released a new report featuring a finding alleging that the Israeli military entered, measured and threatened to demolish the homes of 95 families of terrorists in the West Bank between October of 2015 and April of 2016.

As often happens with HaMoked, however, their report— which takes the form of a letter to the Israeli military — is flawed in many ways. Firstly HaMoked suggests that the families of terrorists who failed to actually kill Israelis are somehow different than the families of those who succeeded — and should not have their homes considered for demolition.

Second, HaMoked argues that the IDF measuring and mapping the homes in advance of an order to demolish is illegal and intrusive. However, the IDF uses this technique to demonstrate the severity of an act of terror, and to immediately send the message that there are serious consequences for committing such an act.

The threat and even the actual home demolition is meant to cause the type of anxiety and fear that could stop an individual who is willing to die or sit in prison from acting; it is the hope that the risk to their family’s way of life would make them reconsider their decision to become a terrorist.

Actual home demolition is a serious non-life-threatening punishment that has been proven to be effective at deterring violent attacks. Israel does not take these threats or the demolitions lightly. Instead, before a demolition, it takes each case to court and determines whether the demolition is worth the consequences. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said of these measure, “There is no other way, unfortunately.” He said the demolitions are a “very, very clear aggressive force against violence.”

Over the past eight years, the extremist American Jewish New Israel Fund has authorized grants worth more than $720,301 to HaMoked. Donors like Daniel and Anne Marie Kahneman, Bonnie Orlin, Paul and Joanne Egerman, Barbara Muslin and Juliane M Heyman have all contributed to NIF and should stop helping the families of terrorists — even those who didn’t succeed at murder.